Off to see the Wizard

The new Tahanto Middle/High School, which opened four months ago, is suddenly infested with lions and tigers and bears … and some flying monkeys.

BBRAVO's production of “The Wizard of Oz” becomes the school's first major production on the new stage this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 3 through 5. The show is set to make full use of the building's modern equipment, first-year director and Tahanto alum Amanda Wheeler said. Some scenes of the show will make use of special effects not available at the old school.

“The old school just didn't have the technology to do some of this stuff,” she said.

The show marks another first as well. It is the first show without BBRAVO's co-founder, Avi Wolf, at the musical helm. The role of music director is being filled by another Tahanto grad, and Wolf's long-term substitute for the first half of the current school year Joe Rondeau. They are joined by veteran BBRAVO choreographer Jessica Bourque, another Tahanto graduate who now owns Jazziak's Dance School in Boylston and is participating in her third BBRAVO production.

BBRAVO – the Berlin Boylston Regional Acting and Voice Organization – was created six years ago by elementary school choral director Sarah Richards and Wolf, who taught chorus at Tahanto. The idea was to bring theatrically-minded students from Boylston and Berlin together before they entered high school, as a way of ultimately boosting the school's theater program and returning long-absent musicals to the school.

The show has morphed over the six years since it started, first expanding to include high school students and at one point allowing fourth-grade students to join. This year's show is performed by students in grades six through 12, Wheeler said.

Wolf's departure has changed the atmosphere of the show, but not in a negative way, said veteran BBRAVO performer James O'Day, a sophomore who has landed the role of the Scarecrow this year.

“It is difficult without Mr. Wolf being here, but, at the same time, it is a greater experience because we are learning from different people,” O'Day said.

Wheeler, too old as a junior to join when BBRAVO started, is no stranger to the format. She recently graduated from Wheelock College with a degree in children's theater.

“I've always wanted to direct BBRAVO,” she said. “I've helped out every year and in my senior year (at Tahanto) I was stage manager.”

Members of the main cast note the more upbeat “Wizard of Oz,” compared to last year's “Fiddler on the Roof,” which was chosen by last year's directors to challenge the students, but had a darker ending.

“At the end of that play, the villagers all have to leave (their village). In this one, we all go home,” said Allie Tolles, who plays the Tin Man. “It's a nice change. It's a little more upbeat.”

Tolles said it is not only the story itself that brings a fun atmosphere to the stage. The story is familiar to many of the cast because of the movie starring Judy Garland, and the cast is made up of friends.

“It's really a fun show to watch because everyone in it is having a fun time putting it on,” Tolles said.

Indeed, its familiarity is one of the reasons the three directors chose the show, Wheeler said.

“It's a classic. It's a great show for all ages,” she said, adding that there are some new songs and enough of a difference in the script that even seasoned 'Wizard of Oz” watchers will find something new in the show.

Echoing what Tolles said about the cast working together, Rondeau noted that the most enjoyable parts of the show for him are when the four leads are singing together.

“I love it when the four leads sing in harmony,” he said. “I also like the unison singing in the show (between leads and support cast). Though it is not a lot of scenes, when it happens, it's great.”

The show works because the cast works, Rondeau noted. Though the music is well known by most of the cast, it is not necessarily easy.

“Sure, the kids know a lot of these songs, but at the same time, it's not easy,” Rondeau said. “It does present a challenge here and there and it's something they have to work for and learn.”

Senior Quentin Harrington, who returns to BBRAVO this year as the Cowardly Lion, said the size of the show results in more work for the cast and crew than in some previous years, but thinks there will be payoff for the audience. He remembers watching the movie and being drawn in by the atmosphere, especially the Wicked Witch of the West, who scared him, he said. Even though many may be familiar with the film, he thinks the BBRAVO production will bring the same connection he had to younger audience members, he said.

“I think it will be a good show,” he said. “Even though it is not a funny show, there are funny parts to it.”

He too credited the cast for the show's quality.

“We all get along really well,” he said. “There is a lot of chemistry. I think people will be pleasantly surprised by the show.”

And it is not just the leads, Wheeler said.

“The older kids have really taken the younger kids under their wings,” she said. “You're going to see a group of friends on the stage, rather than a group of strangers, and it shows.”

Of course, there is still the matter of the Wicked Witch, played by junior Emelia Wheeler, who has been in all but one BBRAVO show and said she enjoys acting in general, taking the stage and playing someone else.

“Even if it's only for a little while, you get to step out of your life and get into someone else's. It's fun,” she said.

And she is relishing her role as the Wicked Witch of the West.

“I love the villains,” she said. “I usually end up playing the bad guys, but that's OK. I'm really enjoying it.

“I think this year is going to be a really great show,” she said. “I think everyone is doing a really good job.”

BBRAVO's “The Wizard of Oz” will be Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 for students and seniors, $12 for others. Tickets are available at the door before each show, or in advance from cast members or by contacting Kathleen Angiulo at (508) 768-7406 orkangiulo@bbrsd.org.

“The show can be enjoyed by everyone from 2 to 92,” Amanda Wheeler said. “The cast is really talented and we have spectacular leads. We really hope everyone comes out to see it.”

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